Traders unhappy with fresh hike in customs duty

KABUL (Pajhwok): Traders have suffered millions of dollars in losses due to a surge in the customs duty by the government, a move causing their imports to get stuck at Iranian and Pakistani ports, a business leader said on Wednesday.

Khan Jan Alkozai, deputy head of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI), told reporters around 5,000 containers of Chinese goods imported by Afghan traders had been stuck at Iranian and Pakistani ports.

The issue was linked to the surge in the customs duty by the government, he explained, recalling that a month earlier the duty on a 40 feet container with different items was 150,000 afghanis.

But the Ministry of Finance has now jacked it up to 450,000 afghanis. He said the Afghan businessmen have suffered around one million dollar daily due to their stay in different ports.

He offered the government to combat growing corruption at ports, custom offices, municipalities and scales instead of raising the duty on goods.

He asked the government to clear goods at Iranian and Afghan ports in line with the previous practice. Any duty hike should be debated by a commission before a final decision was made, he suggested.

Khan Aqa Gulzad, a businessman, said he was unable to pay the duty. The strategy for increasing the customs duty was not in the national interest, he added.

It would result in investment withdrawal and capital flight in long-term, he argued. Some traders might opt to smuggle goods, he warned.

Mohammad Elyas, another businessman, while complaining of the increase in the duty, alleged the finance ministry calculated the Chinese goods at high prices before imposing the duty.

“On the list dispatched by the ministry to the custom offices, the price of a pair of Chinese shoes is 23 dollars. The same shoes are sold in the market for 400 afghanis, or five dollars,” he claimed.

The community warned of closing down their businesses if the government did not bring down the custom duty.

Shamrez Masjidi, spokesman for the Ministry of Finance, said the decision on the customs duty hike was taken in coordination with the private sector.

In one month, he said, the duty would be imposed all goods in custom departments. Later on, the levy on imported goods will be charged in line with original purchase documents.

In a video clip, the spokesman said: “The issue is not the rise or decline in customs duty; it’s the implementation of the law. The finance ministry always strives to create facilities for the private sector in line with the law.”

nh/mud